RiceAndSpam.com is a site dedicated to the ongoing adventures of Joanne Pham and Kama Moiha. Whether it be through live stream or social, you can catch some of our adventures here on this site.

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Apr 9 5 Fun Things at the Houston Autoshow

Who doesn't love cars?! I mean really the fresh new car smell, the clean lines the glossy shiny polish of a new show room car?! Right!? Well there's nothing more exciting than to see some brand spanking new cars in person up close and personal. That's what Joanne and I did while attending the 2017 Houston Auto Show in April.

We were fortunate to be invited to come and attend this event in Houston, Texas By way of SheBuysCars.com, Scotty Reiss. Why go to an AutoShow? Well for one, it's a no pressure situation. The people working the booths are not there to high pressure you into buying anything. They're really there to help you get the most out of the experience. How to help you get informed, to getting you comfortable with the car. What's exquisitely nice to have some early access to car shows is yes, there are some cars we do have some access to that the public may not have. That's why we love it when you guys come into our scopes and interact with us, and give us suggestions that maybe some one else doesn't think about right away, but would be something SOMEONE would be interested in.

Some of my personal favorite cars that I saw there were the Jaguar F-Pace and the Audio RS-7. I honestly can't believe that the introductory price for the Jaguar SUV is $42,000. That's right $42,000. That's a damned bargain. Matter of fact there some inside story about the engine itself, that was largely developed by form motor company. We had some stories shared with us on the inside of how Jaguar changed hands from Ford Motor company to Tata of India. The Audio RS-7 I just love the style and lines of the car down to the tail lights and headlights. I love how they integrated the contrasting lines on the lights as they diverge and run the eye down the sides of the car.

Both Joanne and myself, either broadcasted on periscope, through our own accounts or together as Rice & Spam. So you have all three perspectives of the show. We kind of figured that having the interactive scopes would be a better addition to show on the blog that photos. That way you can rewind and play the experience. Also, Joanne did some 360 scopes too where she took us on a Jeep test drive. You need to see those replays, the first time through the 360 camera pops out of the phone unexpectedly!

1. BRING YOUR BEST FRIEND

That's right, bring you best friend, or partner, or family, or someone. It makes for a fun time when you have someone to explore the car shows with. That partner in crime that make the time fun, pass the time, and if not find things that you may take for granted. Aspects of the cars you're seeing, or showing your fried stuff he or she is missing out on. The details of car, the aesthetics of the car. Or in my case, Joanne, @GoRiceGirl, makes the time fun for us. We can find the crazy and fun in all things. Here's a perfect instance. The first night at the Houston Auto show, we were invited to a VIP night, the theme, 007, that's right James Bond, shaken not stirred. Well towards the end of the night, we were on our way out, and we, Joanne and I were not going to miss a photo op. So Boom I strike a pose and we capture this pose:

2. FREE SWAG

Honestly who doesn't like free, or free .99?! I mean seriously!? One thing that we found cool when going to the Auto Show, they want to give free things. No, they really do. Joanne and I happened upon the Toyota area, and they had two personalities running a Q&A. Well it so happens that you received free things when you answered their questions right, and it's not like the questions really all that difficult. One of the questions was, "What Toyota car is celebrating their 50th year?" Give up, it was the Corolla! Joanne had the answer, and she won a car adapter for her USB cords! I know it's not like a high dollar gift, but come on, all she had to do was answer a question. But let's not forget me, Kama. I got to answer a couple of questions too, and I got something FREE too! What was it? it was a soft sunglass case! FREE! Other car companies were handing out T-shirts, some handed out food. I mean wow.

3. PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES

This is kind of a strange thing to list here. I admit it. But seriously you can use opportunities like this to take some damned amazing photos. Take a gander below. These were all photos taken with my iPhone 7 Plus. No seriously they were, untouched! I didn't do any color correcting or image filtering, at all! Seriously. The first two photos there i used the camera's depth of field ability. In that same first photo is Scotty Reiss and Joanne. Scotty was the one responsible for our fun at the auto show. She runs the site SheBuysCars.com in case you forgot ;) The subsequent photos, okay, i sort of cheated here. NO! Not image adjusting but those last 3 photos were from the L.A auto show. But the tip still stands, look how amazing these photos are! They look like professional photos!

4. ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS AND LISTEN

Okay, I admit , this may not sound like a "fun" thing to do, but I can assure you that this is the place to ask all the questions you can about any all cars that are on the floor. These people are here to help you get informed about these vehicles. They aren't reps from a dealership, they are trained per brand and there for your benefit. And if they cannot answer your question, they will find someone who can. Matter of fact they want to talk to you and you to ask questions. Case in point, I was speaking with Kareem from Land Rover and we were having a great time. You can catch us talking to Kareem at the Land Rover booth, on Joannes Periscope video HERE. Go to the 57:23 mark and you can see us interacting with Kareem, and see how nice he was. Beyond have a great personality, he was very informed with the brand and product.

The other fun thing is to listen when asking questions, because often times when you asked a question of someone, they can share some nuggets of information. Stuff you had no idea of and would be so surprised in hearing. Keep your ears open and ready to receive, you just never know who is listening when you ar asking questions, someone may really surprise you. Or hell the opposite could be true too. Someone else can ask a question, and YOU may have nuggets of information to share with someone, and hell make a new friend in the process!

5. TEST DRIVE CARS

Okay this one is a fun thing to do for sure at the auto shows! I would highly suggest this! One thing that separates the purchase of cars are the looks and the actual drive of a car. Many times dealerships want you to come in and test drive their cars. But what if you want to drive another brand car? You have to haul your butt to another dealership and do the same thing all over again. But wouldn't it be nicer if there was a place where you can just go, to be able to drive a number of cars? Oh wait, there is, the auto show! That's right, you can test drive a myriad of cars there. Again no pressure, just show your driver's license get verified and boom, get behind the wheel and go. I have to say, that's one of the best things for me to make a decision on buying a new ride, being able to drive the car, feel the handling. Two such cars that I was able to test drive at the Houston Auto Show was the Prius Prime and the Volvo XC90 Hybrid. I liked both cars. But think about the differences between the two rides, one's a sedan made by Toyota, and the other an SUV my Volvo. If you ever have the chance, get behind the wheel!

Well there you have it. Some great tips to experience the auto shows! Honestly you can't go wrong, I'm sure there are better tips that you can probably suggest that we haven't listed here. Please don't be shy, add your own comments below and tell us some great tips tha aren't listed here. If you're still here reading, ere's a pretty funny scope as Joanne and I get into a Jeep test drive obstacle course. We get it and the whole point is to see how the jeep performs with the rugged terrain. Well at one point we go up a set of stairs and then down the backside. And while we're going down it's all bumpy. Joanne is flailing about and boom, goes the camera! Click HERE for that replay!

I strongly suggest to check out our replays on Periscope to get more out of this blog. You can find us on Periscope with these handles: